Xu Di ordered his men to keep a close watch on Military Advisor An, then went to wash up, eat breakfast, and go to sleep. When he woke up, it was already afternoon. Seeing that the sun was still shining brightly outside, Xu Di ate a simple meal and then went to the tent where Military Advisor An was being held.

Upon closer inspection, the man had a long face and fair skin. Even though he was gagged and tied to a chair, he remained calm and composed. When he saw Xu Di, his expression turned inscrutable, and then he looked away.

Xu Di nodded, pulled the towel out of An Junshi's mouth, and after the military doctor who followed behind examined An Junshi's teeth one by one, he nodded to Xu Di. Xu Di then smiled and said, "From Aunt Zhu's perspective, should I call you maternal great-uncle or maternal great-uncle?"

Upon hearing Xu Di's seemingly nonsensical remark, Advisor An's pupils contracted, and he fell silent. Xu Di, however, didn't seem to mind. He sighed and said, "I've devoted myself to planning for you for almost a year. It's truly not easy to invite an elder like you here. Oh, by the way, I also have an old friend of yours here, who is on his way from Miaozhou. I'm sure you'll be pleased to see him."

An Junshi's expression remained calm. Xu Di looked at his face, gently shook his head, and said, "I admire your grandfather very much now. He was a remarkable man. He rose from humble beginnings in the countryside and planned for decades. Even today, he has managed to incite several countries around Liang to launch so many wars against Liang. It's just a pity that I have come. The path he has worked so hard to pave for you over the years has been destroyed by me."

Military Advisor An shook his head and said, "The victor is king, the loser is villain. You must accept your fate. Do as you please, whether you want to kill or torture me."

Xu Di sneered and said, "You're thinking too simply. Over the years, how many innocent people have you dragged down with you for your own sake? My father was switched with Aunt Zhu right after he was born. Later, you even plotted against my entire family to take our inheritance. The hatred of having my family wiped out is irreconcilable. I've been working hard for over a decade to find you. Today, when I see you, I just want to have a good talk with you."

Strategist An looked at Xu Di with some disdain and said, "You? I have nothing to talk to you about."

Xu Di said nonchalantly, "If you don't want to talk, then listen to me. Let me tell you about all the things you've done over the years. Where should I begin? Let's start with the downfall of your Yu family dynasty."

When An Junshi heard Xu Di mention the Yu family dynasty, his expression changed slightly. Xu Di didn't pay attention and continued, "In the later period of the Yu family dynasty, the emperors were extravagant and corrupt, and the people suffered greatly. The people rose up in rebellion against the Yu family's tyranny. This was an inevitable result of historical development. It was your own people who were inactive and let down the people. The people couldn't survive, so it was only right that they rebelled against you. Just like you said, you should accept the consequences of your actions and step down gracefully when it was time to do so. But what about you?"

Xu Di walked to An Junshi's side, thinking about what he had learned, and said, "The country has already fallen. This nation, which has suffered so much, has undergone a difficult recovery. Just as the people were about to live a peaceful life, you couldn't wait to jump out again. Your Yu family lost the world because you didn't know that the world is the people, and the people are the world. If you lose the hearts of the people, you lose the world. Your Yu family is best at intrigue and trickery. Even though you have already withdrawn from the stage of history, you still crave the glory of the past years and have to keep a trick up your sleeve. It must be a bloodline left behind by a prince who was not favored. Later, it was found by the supporters of the Yu family, and then they began to slowly plot to seize the country of Liang. Am I right?"

Military Advisor An remained silent. Xu Di squatted down, met his gaze, and said coldly, "Your great-grandfather was a descendant of that prince, wasn't he? It was difficult for them to escape all the way into the depths of the mountains, and later they even sent someone to bring your grandfather out. Later, the Zhu family of the Grand Tutor's Mansion came to be in the capital. Originally, your sister Zhu Shen was able to win the favor of the late Crown Prince and marry into the Eastern Palace. If the late Crown Prince had inherited the throne, and the child born to your sister Zhu Shen had been switched with a child born around the same time in your Zhu family, and that child had inherited the throne, this country would still belong to your Yu family. It's just a pity that the late Empress was very wary of the late Crown Prince. I think the late Crown Prince probably committed suicide because he discovered your Zhu family's conspiracy. Am I right?"

Sweat beaded on Strategist An's forehead, and Xu Di couldn't help but sneer repeatedly: "You people haven't learned any real skills, you've only learned these petty tricks of substitution and deception. Your Zhu family didn't actually need to be executed as a whole. The late Crown Prince left evidence for the late Emperor, which is why the late Emperor had your entire family executed like this. At that time, the Great Liang Dynasty had been established for less than a hundred years, and your Zhu family was the first to be executed as a whole. If it weren't for something that the royal family was extremely wary of, such a brutal punishment would never have been necessary."

Military Advisor An looked at Xu Di, wanting to say something, but Xu Di waved his hand and said, "I guess you are the legitimate child of the Zhu family's principal wife, but you were sent out to be raised right after birth. At that time, Concubine Zhu was already pregnant with the late Crown Prince's child. The late Emperor still had some pity for the late Crown Prince and felt that leaving some bloodline for him would ensure that there would be someone to pay respects in the future, so he kept Zhu Shen. Our Grand Madam of the Yongning Marquis's Mansion knew from the beginning whose child Zhu Shen was carrying. However, the Grand Madam was too kind. She actually raised a tiger in her own home, and a tiger with treacherous intentions at that."

Sweat streamed down An Junshi's cheeks as he looked at him. Xu Di felt a surge of satisfaction upon seeing this and continued, "The Old Madam knew from the beginning that Concubine Zhu had secretly switched the children. It was only because Concubine Zhu's daughter, Xu Shao, was of the late Crown Prince's bloodline that she kept quiet for Xu Shao's future. Who knew that you would even try to take the lives of our entire family?"

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